[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left”]According to Daniel Siegel in The Developing Mind the first few years of our life our minds are an open book. These first few years set the foundation for how we will observe and approach the rest of our lives.  The brain accepts all experiences as being valid and true, and does not judge them as good or bad.  Everyone responds to these years differently, so they are not predictive. This means that you can’t say because an event happens the outcome is always the same. As individuals we have different ways of responding to those years and those stimuli.  The way we know how we processed those early years is by how we behave today and our belief system today.</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p>New research has validated that having a vision for your future is much more effective than having a goal for your future. This first week we will focus on creating a vision about what you would like to be like and how you would like to live your life in the near future. Victor Franco, the psychiatrist who survived the Holocaust, defines vision as seeing ourselves as better than we really are. Kierkegaard, a Christian philosopher, believed that unless we walked in the faith of Abraham we were really not walking in our Christian faith.</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Assignment</strong>: Vision Statement – Describing Your Future most Radiant Self.</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Meditation</strong>: My Most Radiant Self</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><p> </p><br /><br /> <p>[/text_block]

[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left”]This week will practice specifically on being body aware. In his book <span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>”Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself”</span>  Dr. Joe Dispenza  specifically talks about how our body stores emotions. Our homework and meditation will include specific focus on what’s happening in our body and how to experience our body in a new way. In ‘<span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>Transformed: The Science of Spectacular Living'</span> Dr. Judith and Dr. Bob Wright discuss the importance of play and learning to connect with our body.</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Assignment</strong>: Play</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Meditation:</strong> My most radiant self</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><p> </p><br /><br /> <p> </p><br /><br /> <p>[/text_block]

[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left”]This week we will continue body awareness. In his book the <span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>’Biology of Beliefs'</span> Dr. Bruce Lipton specifically focuses on how what we believe to be true comes true. Dr’s Bob and Judith Wright call this self-fulfilling prophecy. The way we feel about our environment turns on the genes and their interaction in our bodies. Our focus this week will be learning how our bodies react to our emotions and our environment.</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Assignment</strong>: Behaving the opposite of how we feel</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Meditation:</strong> My Most Radiant Self</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><p> </p><br /><br /> <p>[/text_block]

[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left”]In this fourth week we will focus on body awareness. According to Dr. Dispenza , having anxiety validates that our emotions are stored in our body. Thinking about this from a scientific perspective, when our bodies are not doing well it could be based on stored emotions. I believe that unexpressed emotions never go away. This week the assignment will be expressing emotions when we notice them showing up in our body. Tension, stress, lethargy, minor aches and pains, and just general tiredness can be related to stored unexpressed emotion. Being body aware, or noticing how our body is feeling, will give us great information about how we are not aware of the emotions but our bodies are.</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Assignment</strong>: Body Awareness</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Meditation</strong>: My Most Radiant Self</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><p> </p><br /><br /> <p>[/text_block]

[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left”]Learning the power of being fully present is transformational. This week and the balance of this class will be focused on presence. Dr. Dispenza reminds us that enumerating about our current or stressful past is not living in the present.  Allowing ourselves to live in that potential new future now we begin to accept or believe that we truly can have and experience elevated emotions that come from our most magnificent future self. The current environment, with our current emotions and the fact that we have not yet achieved our future self are three major factors in holding us back from change.</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Assignment</strong>: Practicing Living our Future Self</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Meditation</strong>: Being Fully Present</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><p> </p><br /><br /> <p>[/text_block]

[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left”]Deciding who we want to be, how we want to live, and what we like to have in the future, are easy things to think about. Dreaming about our future self is filled with infinity in fantasy. Dr. Judith Wright, and her book <span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>The One Decision</span>, specifically talks about the power of presence. We are either foggy or have clarity about our future, we can either pretend or we can be present. We either excuse ourselves or we can admit what’s truly true for us. The discussion that life is in the present moment is a powerful one. This week we will learn about how to be more present.</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Assignment</strong>: Practicing Presence</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Meditation</strong>: Being Fully Present[/text_block]

[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left”]Practicing being fully present can be as easy as brushing your teeth and being aware that you’re brushing you teeth.   However according to Dr. Dispenza unless we actually change the routine we will be in the same old pattern of brushing our teeth. Presence isn’t only focused presence is also total awareness of what’s happening around us. He uses the example of brushing our teeth with our opposite hand. The whole time you’re brushing your teeth your mind is working hard to notice what you’re doing so you get the same effect of quality teeth brushing with the opposite hand. Your mind slows down and you are more present because it’s not routine. This week we’ll practice breaking routines to make ourselves more aware of being fully present.</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Assignment</strong>: Playing with old habits and creating new ones</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Meditation</strong>: Being Fully Present[/text_block]

[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left”]Integrating presence into our current lifestyle includes the challenge of understanding chaos versus rigidity or harmony and flexibility. Daniel Siegel’s book <span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>Mindsight</span>, he talks about how presence is awareness and allowing things that show up to flow. Our minds are quite complex and have established all kinds of patterns and routines and when those patterns and routines are broken we often have an emotional reaction. We become rigid and/or act as if things are chaotic. Part of learning to be present is learning to have harmony and flexibility as things show up.</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Assignment</strong>: Practicing harmony and flexibility</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Meditation:</strong> Being Fully Present[/text_block]

[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left”]Where do belief systems come from? Understanding our own biases and judgments can make life flow a lot easier for us. This week we will focus specifically on biases and judgments that we have about others, the world and ourselves. All belief systems are learned and subsequently can be unlearned. Interviewing others about what they believe and being open to how they think about the world without judging them is a powerful exercise. This week we will focus on discovering differences in others and allowing those differences to influence how we feel about them and ourselves.</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Assignment</strong>: Interviewing three close friends about their biases and judgments</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Meditation</strong>: Being Fully Present.[/text_block]

[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left”]Integration. In her book <span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>Mindset</span> Carol Dweck states that a fixed mindset is often the result of fear of curiosity and exploring the unknown.   My experiences in life are different than your experiences in life. I define the world based on my historical experiences. You define your world based on your historical experiences. With a fixed mindset, a person is unwilling to accept someone else’s definition of the world based on their historical experiences that are different than their own historical experiences. Being fully present includes allowing a difference of opinion without feeling threatened or challenged. Curiosity is a huge asset in being fully present.</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Assignment</strong>: Curiosity about your own beliefs and expressing them in the moment</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Meditation</strong>: Being Fully Present[/text_block]

[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left”]“As you unlock the power presence, you open a conduit to the infinite resources in the world around you. You are fully awake and alive, and have access to the vast information available from your senses, the wisdom of your heart, the energy of your emotions, the knowledge of your mind and the wealth of your creativity and talent.” – from <span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>The One Decision </span> By Dr. Judith Wright pg 143</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p>Aliveness comes from the power of being present. According to Judith Wright we are our whole self using our gifts and talents fully when we are present with ourselves and others. We attract love, support, and resources.   Our needs are more easily met.  We are magnificent and powerful and creative when we are fully present.</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><p> </p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Assignment</strong>: Living fully alive and being fully present in our gifts and natural talents.</p><br /><br /> <p></p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Meditation</strong>: Being Fully Present[/text_block]